Accused driver seeks agreement

25-year-old allegedly killed in crash

25-year-old allegedly killed in crash

December 10, 2005|CAROL DRAEGER Tribune Staff Writer

NILES -- A Granger woman accused of negligent homicide in an alcohol-induced crash is distraught over the tragedy, her attorney said Friday. Amanda Theresa Christenson had double the legal limit of alcohol in her blood when she allegedly plowed into a stopped vehicle on Nov. 23, killing a Niles couple, police said. "She is heartbroken and devastated," her Benton Harbor defense attorney Andy Burch said. Burch and Christenson, 25, were at the South County Courthouse in Niles talking with Berrien County prosecutors in a closed conference early Friday. Christenson was due to appear in trial court on Tuesday but attorneys agreed to waive the preliminary hearing to give the defense time to investigate its options. Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Rhoa appeared confident. "We're ready to proceed," he said. The court sets the next hearing time, he said, so he could not give a date. "Both the prosecutor and I are trying to find the right thing to do do," Burch said after the attorneys' meeting. He admitted the case is difficult because of the deaths of Donna Lutin and Michael King, both 52, who were killed at the scene. Police said Christenson drove her 2005 Lexus into the back end of a sport utility vehicle stopped for a red light on 11th Street (Michigan 51) at Ontario Road about 7:45 p.m. Lutin, who was driving a Suzuki SUV, was stopped behind a pickup truck in the northbound right lane of South 11th Street in Niles. King was a passenger in the SUV. The impact of the crash caused the stopped pickup truck in front of Lutin's SUV to careen through the intersection and strike a nearby building. The truck's driver, Mark Wayne Steven, 51, was not seriously injured nor was Christenson, police said. Christenson told police she had consumed a glass of Chardonnay at the Gippers Sports Bar in Roseland about 15 minutes before the crash, according to court records. Her blood alcohol-level after the crash was .175, which is more than the legal limit of .08, police said. Burch was mindful of what the police report and blood tests reveal. Still, he will look into the possibility of a plea agreement for his client, who he said "has heretofore led a good life." The two felony counts carry maximum penalties of 15 years in prison. But he also said he was told prosecutors won't offer a plea agreement. "These are hard cases because no one wakes up in the morning and says, 'I'll get drunk today and kill someone,'" Burch said. "Her (Christenson's) situation is clearly outweighed by the victims' loss," he added. Referring to the balance on the scales of justice, he said: "On one hand you have innocent people sitting at a stop sign now dead. On the other hand you have someone who did not intend for it to happen but was careless in her lifestyle." Staff writer Carol Draeger: cdraeger@sbtinfo.com (269) 687-7005